City of San Marino staff and contractor Valley Vista Services on Wednesday night explained plans to move the city to a two‑cart residential system—one container for mixed trash and recyclables and one for organic waste—and answered a broad set of resident questions about cart sizes, pickup rules, fees and timing.

At a virtual community meeting, Chriselle Vasquez, client services manager for Valley Vista Services, reviewed service details and outreach plans and encouraged residents to use rightsizing appointments or email the company with cart preferences. “Valley Vista Services will begin delivering residential carts starting in January 2025,” Vasquez said during the presentation; later in the session city staff and Valley Vista representatives also referenced January 2026 as the start of the cart rollout, a discrepancy noted in the meeting (see audit summary).

The meeting focused on how the change ties to California’s Senate Bill 1383, the state law aimed at diverting organic waste from landfills. Amber Shaw, parks and public works director and city engineer for the City of San Marino, described the compliance obligation and the city’s reporting responsibilities to CalRecycle: “the city could be fined if we’re not making efforts to, educate and enforce … up to, like, $10,000 a day,” Shaw said, noting the need for outreach to residents and businesses.

Key details presented

- Two‑cart system and default sizes: The standard allotment is 96 gallons per commodity (one allotment for mixed trash/recycling and one allotment for organics). Vasquez said the default cart size is a 96‑gallon cart; residents may choose alternatives that total the same allotment (for example, three 32‑gallon carts or one 64‑gallon plus one 32‑gallon) and can request changes via rightsizing appointments or the dedicated San Marino email address.

- Fees and billing: Valley Vista stated a standard residential service rate in the presentation (figures given during the meeting included $57.61 per month and later references to $57 per month); the company confirmed that service is billed quarterly. The meeting included inconsistent numeric references; residents were advised to confirm account details with Valley Vista when they contact the vendor.

- Organics and bags: Food waste must be separated from mixed waste and put into the green organics cart. Valley Vista requests that food waste be placed inside clear or transparent bags and tied before placing the bag in the organics cart so the facility can identify and process food waste without high contamination. Green yard waste (leaves, branches) may be placed loose in the organics cart; palm fronds, cactus and some succulents were identified as unsuitable for organics and should go in the mixed waste cart.

- Bulky pickups and other services: Residential and estate customers are eligible for two complimentary bulky pickups per year, with up to 10 items per pickup; bulky pickups are scheduled by request. Valley Vista also described two compost giveaways and two document shredding events per year and automatic holiday tree collection (Dec. 26–Jan. 15).

- Collection logistics: The city will provide backyard service (drivers close gates after service). Valley Vista explained that, at present, organics and trash are serviced by separate trucks and may not arrive at the exact same minute, though the contractor and city said they aim for same‑day coordination. Staff noted the city and vendor are pursuing longer‑lead split‑body trucks that could collect both streams simultaneously in the future.

Questions from residents and staff clarifications

Residents asked about specific items (coffee grounds, bread in clear bags, pet waste, bones, cardboard, flattened boxes, compostable vs. clear bags, and whether current metal personal barrels would be removed). Valley Vista representatives said: bones and most food waste (including coffee grounds and food‑soiled paper) may go in the organics cart if bagged; pet and other animal waste should go in the mixed‑waste cart; cardboard should be flattened before being placed in the mixed cart and bulky pickups can be scheduled for excess cardboard. Valley Vista staff said they will exchange damaged carts and will remove resident metal barrels after new carts are delivered.

How to sign up and outreach

Valley Vista and city staff urged residents to attend rightsizing appointments (in‑person sessions listed during the presentation) or to email sanmarino@myvvs.com to request alternate cart sizes or additional carts. The city will post the slide deck and recordings at sanmarinoca.gov/trash and include event dates on the city calendar. Staff also encouraged residents to sign up for the City Manager’s Weekly Briefing for updates.

Why this matters

City staff framed the rollout as an operational step to meet SB 1383 diversion goals and avoid noncompliance penalties, and as part of a multi‑month transition the city has worked on with Valley Vista and the community. The meeting was largely informational and did not include formal council actions or votes.

Where to get more information

The vendors and the city said materials — including the slide deck, recordings (English and Mandarin), and a Q&A PDF — will be posted to the city’s trash webpage (sanmarinoca.gov/trash). For account‑specific questions residents were given the dedicated vendor email sanmarino@myvvs.com and encouraged to call Valley Vista operations for bulky pickups or cart exchanges.